A Year Down Yonder; A Long Way From Chicago

Originally posted October 24, 2003

Both of these are by Richard Peck. A Year Down Yonder was the Newbery Medal Winner in 2001 and A Long Way From Chicago was a Newbery Honor book in 1999. I read A Long Way from Chicago first because it is the "prequel" to A Year Down Yonder and I wanted to do it in order.

These stories have a storytellerish style, a kind of tall tale, yarn spinning quality. In A Long Way from Chicago each chapter tells a story about a gun toting, don't care what anybody thinks, tough as nails/heart of gold Grandmother that two kids from Chicago go visit each summer.

A Year Down Yonder follows the younger child through an entire year with her grandmother, during the depression when her parents are in a hard way in Chicago and decide it's best for the girl to live with her Grandmother for the year.

The chapters of each book stand on their own as stories. I bet it would be a fun one to read aloud.

I found that the each chapter a story format didn't suck me in quite a thoroughly as a regular novel does. The stories are funny, the Grandmother character outrageous and with good moral fortitude despite (or maybe because of?) her out law mentality. I think a lot of kids would love these books. Even though there's some gritty events, they are all placed in such an amusing, ridicules light that I don't think any of it is scary. I'd say it's aimed more at a middle school, high school audience, but I bet a much younger reader would enjoy them as well, especially if read with a parent.